Profile

Dr. Anja Marschall

Dr. Anja Marschall

Research Fellow

Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft/Exegese des Alten Testaments
Institutsgebäude
Beethovenstraße 25, Room 411
04107 Leipzig

Phone: +49 341 97 - 35434

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Abstract

I have been a research assistant at the Department of Theology and Exegesis of the Old Testament headed by Prof. Dr. Dr. Andreas Schüle since January 2022. From 2017-2021 I was funded by a doctoral scholarship of the Evangelisches Studienwerk Villigst. My research interests include individual identity and self-experience in the Old Testament, and lament texts and their reception. In July 2023, I completed my doctoral project focusing on lament texts found in the Psalms and the Book of Job. My thesis examines how traditional truths are being rethought and how traditional forms of prayer are creatively adapted to deal with distress.

Currently, I am designing my postdoctoral project on the subject of violence by women (including Judith and Judg 4f.) - at the intersection of shame, eroticism and power. 


I am a member of the SBL and the EABS and I have two children (*2017 and *2019).


Professional career

  • since 01/2022
    Research assistant at the Department of Theology and Exegesis of the Old Testament (Prof. Dr. Dr. Andreas Schüle)
  • 10/2017 - 12/2021
    Lecturer at the Department of Theology and Exegesis of the Old Testament (Prof. Dr. Dr. Andreas Schüle)
  • 05/2017 - 12/2021
    Doctoral scholarship holder of the evangelisches Studienwerk Villigst

Education

  • 07/2023
    Defense and acceptance of the dissertation „Klage als Ausdruck undAneignung in den Psalmen und im Hiobbuch,“ grade summa cum laude
  • 10/2009 - 07/2016
    Studies of Protestant theology at the University of Leipzig, degree Diplom

Research focus

  • Lament as a means of reflecting on self and faith, both in the Psalms and the Book of Job and in the reception of the texts; possibilities, opportunities, and challenges of lament in worship and religious education
  • Mourning in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East
  • Women's hands as agents, e.g. in the Book of Judges and the Book of Judith, especially concerning the themes of eroticism, power, and shame 
  • Reception history of female biblical protagonists in art history
  • Animals in the Psalms as an expression of the perception of self and others and as an insight into the understanding of the animal world in the Levant

more publications

  • Advanced Seminar (teaching degree in Protestant religion): "Women Intervening in History"

    The female figures in the Old Testament primarily have informal power, beyond the formative power structures. They often use creative and unconventional means to achieve their goals. The seminar will examine the ways in which women intervene in history, particularly in the book of Genesis and in the Deuteronomistic History, and how they are evaluated within the text. The reception and text-external evaluation of the pericopes also forms part of the seminar.

  • "Proseminar Old Testament"

    The proseminar serves as an introduction to the methods and academic tools of Old Testament scholarship using selected Hebrew texts. The aim is for students to be able to write an exegetical paper independently.

  • Seminar " Lament in Worship"

    This interdisciplinary seminar relates current Old Testament findings on lament texts in the Book of Job and the Psalms to their contemporary liturgical use. What experiences are associated with the rhetoric of lament? To what extent does research on traumatic experiences, such as violence, war or natural disaster, shed light on the understanding of the texts and open up liturgical contexts? What ritual uses can be found for texts in liturgy and sermons addressing exceptional situations?

  • Lecture "History of Israel and Judah"

    The lecture provides an overview of Israel and Judah's history from their inception until the Hellenistic period. It is intended for diploma, BA, and teaching students.

  • Seminar/Lecture "Old Testament Biblical Studies"

    The seminar aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the writings of the Old Testament and at the same time serves as preparation for the biblical studies exam. It is especially aimed at first-year students.

  • Seminar "Lament in the Book of Job"

    The seminar examines Job's lamentations, identifying his sufferings and proposed solutions.

    The interdisciplinary course covers not just the typical Old Testament questions of genre and history, but also delves into systematic-theological issues and psychological research topics such as mourning, trauma, and loss of identity.

  • Advanced Seminar "In Search of the Soul: Old Testament and Systematic Theological Anthropology in Conversation" (in cooperation with Andreas Schüle and Roderich Barth)

    There has been a recent resurgence of interest in the concept of the "soul" within theological research. Does the human being in the multiplicity of his physical and psychic life processes "occur once again in himself" (N. Luhmann)? If so, how can this integral function be described? Could the soul serve as the foundation for theological anthropology? The seminar examines these questions comparatively from an Old Testament and systematic theological perspective.

  • Advanced Seminar "Lament in the Old Testament" (in cooperation with Andreas Schüle)

    The significance of "lament" for the theology of the Old Testament is increasingly attracting the interest of researchers. What types of experiences and emotions are being conveyed in this expression? What is the meaning of lament as prayer? What attitudes and expectations are associated with lament - solidarity, protest, salvation? These and other questions will be explored in the seminar on the basis of selected Old Testament and ancient texts.